


Archivist 2nd Class, Lifrasir Edda, The Magnus Institute, London

by Das_Silberschlussel



Category: The Bifrost Incident - The Mechanisms (Album), The Magnus Archives (Podcast), The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Lifrasir Edda is the Archivist, Eldritch Horrors, I'll try to but content warnings at the top of each chapter, Kind of what you'd expect, Look I'm just doing an AU rewrite of basically the whole thing. It's not gonna be super different, Multi, No Beta We Die Like Thor, Not Happy, Probably some out of character stuff for the mechs, Slow Burn, Sometimes you need a little backstory, just go with it okay, my hyperfixation made me do it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:54:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 8,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26472946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Das_Silberschlussel/pseuds/Das_Silberschlussel
Summary: Basically this is an AU where (Inspector 2nd class) Lifrasir Edda (New Midgard Transport Police) escapes their burning world and eventually ends up on Earth (Terra) and ends up joining the Magnus Institute as Jonathan Sims.Ultimately with some relatively involved pre-story concerning how Lifrasir even gets to earth in the first place. I intend to follow along relatively consistently with The Magnus Archive podcast, so consider this a bit of an experiment in letting my hyperfixations run the show for a bit.Content warnings will be in the notes before each chapter, feel free to comment with additional content warnings if you feel it needs them.
Relationships: Lyfrassir Edda/Marius von Raum, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Lifrasir Edda, Sasha James/Tim Stoker, The mechanisms ensemble - Relationship
Comments: 39
Kudos: 93
Collections: Mechanisms and Magnus Crossovers that maintain the integrity of mechanisms lore





	1. Lifrasir Edda: AWOL

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Implied Abandoning of post, scopophobia, emotional breakdown

It wasn't like the escape was easy. Really, you should try to escape an entire solar system as it slowly (or not slowly) gets eaten by a malevolent eldritch ~~diety...god...monster~~...thing. But the ship that they had chartered barely managed to get out of the Yggdrasil system.

But even Lifrasir Edda knew that Hoddmimis wasn't far enough to be beyond the reach of that horrific thing. The trouble was, of course, that the ship was just too small, and they were a bit too drunk to really be of much help to the crew. Everything they knew was quite literally being eaten up by something from outside their own knowledge and will to understand.

As it just so happened, Lifrasir found themselves in quarters on a ship with their face in their hands as they cry-laughed about the absurdity of it all. Everything had gone completely wrong, it was only one incident, and they had _just_ been made Inspector 2nd Class, and here they were – just going AWOL like a... well like someone with a death wish. The barely audible emotional breakdown continued as they tried to forget the confusion that they managed to hear over the comms before they were shut off as the ship managed to escape.

There was always the feeling, looming in the back of their mind that Odin in that ten minute clip really was staring directly at them, even now that image of her manic grin and piercing blue eye kept them up at night. Currently Lifrasir was going on the assumption that if they were exhausted enough the dreams wouldn't come, but even they knew that if they didn't see Odin watching them, they would see worse, the ruination of the train, the painful bismuth scar in the sky, and any other means of torture played out upon New Midgardian lives (if not the other realms in the Yggdrasil system).

If they were lucky, the dreams would stop and they could finally get some rest.


	2. Ragnarok Redux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A description of Lifrasir's exhaustion-fueled dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Scopophobia, Implied death, madness, Pain mention, being forced to watch torture, feelings of helplessness, gore, dream logic

The All-mother stood there watching them as they watched back in return. Her bright blue eye seemed to bore into their own, but even in the dream they could not blink. They were a watcher and they had to endure this particular form of torture. It was almost like Odin was searching the back of their thoughts, digging deep into their soul and playing with whatever she found there.

Lifrasir shuddered in this horrible rainbow riot of a world. They could tell from the number of times they had had this particular dream that they were standing partially looking at the screens that held the readout and information of the Ratatosk Express' black box, but some part of the dream logic had them standing in the observance deck with Odin herself. If their gaze drifted just slightly off of Odin's mad glare they could see into the the void, into the tearing, shrieking space where all forms of horrors were attaching themselves to the train. They could see the slow sloughing of flesh as it peeled from Sif's body, and the twisting mangled return of Tyr's hand.

While Lifrasir was never particularly attached to the Asgardians, as primed for conquest that their so called rulers were, they had never actually spoken in support of the insurgents either. But they knew where Sigyn and Loki were, this wasn't the first time that this dream had come. Only now, now they could taste the bright copper of blood as they watched Loki walk through the train cars – her hair starting to branch out in ever changing mesmerizing fractals. The touch of the void was upon her and while her wife walked beside, Sigyn's fear was also in the air, almost seeming to push Loki on.

Lifrasir raised a hand to their mouth, they could feel the bile beginning to rise as they watched Asgardians being torn and melted together, and then bright daylight as the train emerged on New Midgard. A flash in the dream logic as they saw their own family start to sucumb to the twisting insanity as the horror began to consume the world.

Odin now a massive thing, no longer Odin, in her place the great beast: Jormungandr -- her many toothed mouths spilling poison into the sea and devouring any who would run. She would seek out the smallest, the ones that would remind Lifrasir of their family, anyone who appeared particularly vulnerable. All while her eye looked back at the Inspector 2nd class as if to say: 'this is for you'.

For yet another night, Lifrasir did not dream of peace, they dreamed of fear, of pain, of anything but hope. With all of these visions, the crushing inability to help was only mirrored by the fact that they _could not close their eyes._


	3. A Stowaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lifrasir is pulled violently out of a nightmare and into a reality they didn't particularly expect or want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Guns, Almost getting shot, being questioned at gunpoint

A sharp sound brought Lifrasir out of their nightmare, not screaming but the sudden shock awake that resulted in the muzzle of what they assumed was a gun pointed at them. Lifrasir slid further back in the bed, trying to move away from the potential death before a single shot rang out and they froze. Basic training reminded them that they were completely outmatched in this situation.

“Who are you?” the voice behind the smoking barrel asked, a voice cold and sharp in the near silence of sleeping quarters. “And what are you doing here?”

Lifrasir's vision finally came into focus and they noticed the cyclops goggle pushed up on his hair line and the green and black coat. They paled as they recognized who they had accidentally ran into.

“Von Raum?” Lifrasir exclaimed out of pure surprise, leaning just a bit forward in the partial relief and confusion as they realized where they must have ended up. At the slightest twitch of the gun they straightened immediately. “I mean, I'm Inspector...” Their eyes searched the ship for a moment, wondering if they should even bother with their title now that they had decided to leave the entire system, “Lifrasir Edda. ”

It was a weak attempt at concealing their identity, but it was the best they had, especially since Von Raum didn't seem to recognize them. That particular clue didn't escape their notice, but thinking on that would wait until after the adrenaline wasn't coursing so strongly through their veins.

“I just thought, I thought that this, I thought this was the ship that I chartered.” Lif continued after having to restart the sentence a few times, their hands slowly moving to a more visible location. “I would really appreciate it if I didn't have a gun in-”

“Are we fighting?” a oddly gleeful voice said from the door as a second wild haired man peaked around the door. Lifrasir couldn't get a good look at the new voice's owner as they were trying to ensure that they wouldn't actually get shot. They were the last survivor of the death of their entire system, this would be an awful way to finally go.

“Just a stowaway, Jonny.” Marius Von Raum said over his shoulder, “Do you think Dr Carmilla would like another experiment?” The gun went up and away as Lifrasir tried to remember who Dr. Carmilla was, and why that was certainly a threat.

“Why do you always have to feed the interesting ones to the doctor, we could always use another roadie.” The manic grin that Jonny gave as only just shy of the last grin that Lifrasir saw on Odin's face before she achieved apotheosis.


	4. Meeting The Toy Soldier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lifrasir meets the Toy Soldier, and also gets the download about the mechanisms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: The Toy Soldier, Creepy doll person

“Are you coming or not?” Jonny inquired as he poked his head back into the quarters where Lifrasir was standing uncomfortably with Marius.

The darker skinned man had been giving them a further look over, and a question was obviously posed on his lips. Lifrasir didn't know if this meant that Marius was slowly starting to recognize them or not.

“So, er, we'll talk later then.” Lifrasir hesitated before moving to follow Jonny, “And sorry about sleeping in your bed.”

Marius watched the new stowaway walk away with a single eye brow raised before turning to his own sleep.

Meanwhile, Lifrasir followed Jonny, and was suffering through listening to the basic run down of the ship (the Aurora). They had to keep it out of their face they had actually been on the ship after the New Midgardian Transport Police had finally managed to capture the Mechanisms a few decades prior.

“Let me see if I get this straight. Ivy Alexandria is the ship's navigator, Nastya Rasputina is the engineer, Ashes O'Reilly is the quartermaster, Gunpowder Tim is the master-at-arms, Baron Doctor Von Raum –“

“Not a Baron,” Jonny responded quickly, “Or a Doctor”

“Right, Marius Von Raum is the medic, DrumBot Brian is the pilot, Raphaella la Cognizi is the science officer, and you, Jonny d'Ville, are the captain.”

“All correct.”

Lifrasir stopped their steps, as they caught something out of the corner of their eye. They started to stare just a little longer than necessary at the figure that seemed to be standing in the middle of a perpendicular hallway.

“Hey, er, Captain?” they said as their eyes didn't move from the thing that loomed in the hallway. Light shone off of it's buttoned jacket and various metals on its breast, but the dullness of its _wooden_ skin and painted eyes was starting to creep into a location in the back of Lifrasir's head. They felt as if the large doll was looking back at them, and maybe even breathing a little.

Jonny responded silently with a grin, and a mental self high-five at finally getting someone to acknowledge his true captain status. He turned to notice that Lifrasir had stopped a bit of the way back and was staring down an opposing corridor.

“What is that then?” Lifrasir lifted a finger and pointed at the doll, which had started to move forward, it's movements jerky and mechanical in a mockery of natural movements.

“What? Oh that's the Toy Soldier. It keeps showing up.” Jonny's exasperated tone said almost everything. “ _Go Away_.” He said sharply to the wooden soldier before pushing Lifrasir further down the passage. “Don't worry about it, I'll make Tim get rid of it. Stop following us, you monster.”

“I Just Want To Be Included.” The Toy Soldier replied, much closer than Lifrasir wanted it to be. Besides, Jonny made it sound like the Toy Soldier just showed up out of nowhere, even as the ship was flying through the void.


	5. A Game of Guns and Blackjack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lifrasir meets more of the mechanisms and is entered into the official Ship's Log

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Gun violence (but for fun?), Threats, Scopophobia, Smoking , Gambling, Gun violence (but for sexy reasons?), Octokittens, Invasive questions

Lifrasir accepted being generally pushed forward by Jonny as the Toy Soldier decided to stop chasing the two of them so fervently, though it was still following. They rounded into a room to find a group of people seated around a felted table.

“That's blackjack again.” One said as they flipped their cards, a grin sliding across their face as they looked at the fluffy haired dealer. Their pinstriped suit quickly produced a cigarette and a lighter with a spiderweb design which they promptly lit, took a drag and blew smoke directly into the fluffy haired one's face.

“Ashes, you really shouldn't be cheating like that.” mentioned the one with the red undercut, “At least not so obviously.” She seemed to have her nose in a book, but she was quite obviously keeping a much closer watch on the game than she was putting on.

The winged person seated at the table had just tapped the table for a hit before the dealer noticed Jonny and Lifrasir approaching. Lifrasir neatly sidestepped out of Jonny's grasp to avoid any further unnecessary physical interaction as they marveled at the wings protruding from back of the lab coated woman. As they were gawking, they started to notice the sharp stare of the fluffy haired man; and then they noticed that his eyes seemed to be dialing in a bit. Not that there was a ticking that was obvious but it was almost like he was auto-calculating distance and trajectory.

Then his eyes switched to Jonny and a gun came up faster than Lifrasir would have expected, aimed directly at Jonny's face.

“Well, Tim.” Jonny said, his own gun also mysteriously in his hand, though pointed a fair amount lower than Tim's face. “I was hoping you would tell me how the Toy Soldier got back on the ship.” He stated, a question barely evident, but technically not present.

Tim only cocked his gun in return.

“Go ahead, Tim, shoot me you fucking coward.” Jonny was leaning into the barrel now, letting it prod up against his forehead before he shifted and slowly licked the barrel, maintaining direct eye contact with the Master-at-arms. “Get off, you know you're not going to do it.” With a tilt of the head and a sharp push with one finger as he holstered his own gun Jonny walked past Tim, who did manage to pull the trigger – a shot that barely missed the Toy Soldier.

“Oh, and can you get rid of it please, toss it in the hold with the Octokittens, I don't care.” He slid relatively smoothly to the dealer's seat where Tim had previously been stationed and delivered Raphaella's hit while motioning for Lifrasir to sit down.

“Fuck off, Jonny” Tim grumbled with a mechanical eye roll as he actually listened and walked in the direction of the Toy Soldier. Behind his back, Jonny only made a dismissive gesture.

“New stowaway, Ivy, if you want to check them in. They've agreed to be a roadie for a while.”

Ivy placed a bookmark in her most recent page and turned to look at the forcibly sobered New Midgardian and began her assessment. “New Midgardian?” She asked as she pushed away the numbers and calculations that immediately started to tally exactly who this new person was.

“Yes, I'm Ins-- Lifrasir Edda.”

“An inspector?” She asked quickly picking up on the word that they had tried to cut off. “You probably are a bit confused then, and have a fair number of questions, but we'll get to that later. Yes, her wings are real.” She had pulled out a smaller notebook and began to jot things down inside of it before looking back up at Lfirasir who had a puzzled look on their face as their eyes had only drifted to Raphaella once.

“The question had an eighty-five percent chance of being something you were going to ask, and I thought it would be easier to get it out of the way now, as opposed to later.”

Lifrasir made a mental adjustment in his head, they remembered Ivy Alexandria more now, how mathematical she was, and how she had managed to clear up all the issues with the Ratatosk Express' black box. Technically, in a way she was responsible for them being able to actually get out in time.

“I just need to know how to put your name into this, there are about four spellings of your name that I can think of and I'd prefer to have it correct. 'Lyfrasir', with a 'y' and one or two 's's or 'f's; 'Lifthrasir', with a 'th', 'Lífþrasir' with a 'þ' and an accented 'i', or 'Lfirasir' with an 'i' at the beginning and only one 's' and 'f'.”

“The last one is how I spell it.”

“And is that Edda or Eddas?”

“Er, no 's'.”

“Any specific pronouns or nicknames? And any allergies?” It was almost like she was filling out some sort of form in her notebook, but they answered the questions as best as they could.

“I prefer they/them pronouns, but I only use she/her when the other person is using the name Lif.” Lifrasir seemed to be a bit flustered as they tried to explain. “I use they/them with both names, with Lifrasir its they/him and Lif is they/her. And no allergies that I've found.”

“And is it just an ask if it's a Lifrasir or Lif sort of day? Or is this something that you will be telling us as it comes up?” Ivy's eyes looked up into Lifrasir's as she started to make another note on the pad.

“It's more of a...” they paused as they tried figure out the easiest way to explain it. “closeness factor. Assume Lifrasir unless otherwise told.”

“Noted.” Ivy said as the other three Mechanisms in the room nodded along.

“You smoke?” Ashes tossed in for both Ivy's notes and also their own personal habit. Having someone to talk to when you were engaging in a past time was always fun.

“And what's your blood type?” This time from Raphaella, who seemed just a bit interesting on having a new stowaway, and this one from a new planet.

“Not while I'm working, and I don't know.”


	6. Sometimes you're the Seventh Wheel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lifrasir gets pulled into the blackjack game, some information isn't directly passed onto them, and some overt innuendos are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Overt and Subtle suggestive behavior, smoking, drinking, drug use, implied abandonment, implying that relationships are a game

“You're not working now,” Ashes grinned as they produced a second cigarette and passed it to Lifrasir, “you're playing cards with us. And that means you can smoke.” They flicked the lighter in Lifrasir's direction and nodded with approval as they lit up.

“Now we can see how well you play.” Raphaella said with a sly grin, “And you can ask us all those questions that Ivy identified.” She looked over at the librarian, “Unless you want to spoil the suspense for the them again?”

Ivy shrugged “I could if that would be better for you, but learning is its own rewards, and I'm sure you have questions even I wouldn't think to account for. The mortal factor and all.” She tilted her head before nodding almost to herself.

Lifrasir took a moment as they glanced at the two cards Jonny had slid his way. “Er, I don't have anything to bet with.” 

A round robin of glances were passed between the Mechanisms before a metal hand dropped a pile of gold and silver coins printed with laurel wreaths and circuitry in front of the new stowaway. 

“Just play.” The medic said before taking a seat on the opposite side of the room with a bottle and a book. There was a distinct lack of attention that to almost anyone would read as deliberate.

The barest hint of a smile crossed the Mechanisms' faces as Ivy made another note and she mouthed to Jonny from behind Lifrasir. 'first bid.'

'It's not my game.' Jonny mouthed back to Ivy before turning to Lifrasir. “So not that we have that settled...” He gestured at Lifrasir, who otherwise was oblivious to the rather complex series of bets that were being placed around them.

'Afraid that Marius is going to win this time?' Raphaella mouthed with a glance at her own cards to Jonny's chagrin.

'It's not Roulette, Raff, I don't think it would be all that fun.' he said as he gave another card to Ashes who was once again grinning like a cat that got everything they wanted.

“Ashes, you're doing it again.” Ivy said from her notes, “And you're a fool if you think Jonny doesn't notice.”

“Sure but he's trying to keep it clean right now since we have a new stowaway, and he doesn't want to have to deal with the blood.” Ashes replied with a rather smug grin and a breath of smoke into Jonny's face. 

“Is there a dynamic here, that I'm interrupting?” Lifrasir asked as they had contemplated their cards and waited their turn.

“You could say it's something like that.” Jonny grinned before reaching out and plucking Ashes' cigarette from them and pulling a drag from it himself. “But you're really not interrupting, unless you want to.”

“And what did you mean by the mortal factor?” Lifrasir asked while turning back to Ivy.

“As perfect as my calculations are, I cannot predict a one hundred percent outcome due to the inherent mortality of the subject, you. Therefore I have deemed that you need further observation before any predictions can be more effectively made. Your questions are a basis of this observation.” Ivy barely looked up from her book as she made this assessment and finished it off with a glance back to the table. “So go ahead and ask.”

“Alright then, Where are Nastya and Brian?” They knocked on the table for a hit.

Once again the looks passed around, “Nastya is probably in the engine room,” Jonny opened his mouth as if to add additional information, “I'd suggest just drinking alcohol instead of any ship produced water.”

“And Brian is recovering.” Raphaella glared daggers at Jonny as she said this, “we've been having to make do with a back up pilot recently.”

“Jonny left Brian in a sun for about, what? A century?” Ashes smirked.

“I was busy.” He said before hitting his own cards. “House has twenty. ”

“'Busy' more like drunk.” Ashes indicated inverted commas with their hands before flipping their last card over. “Twenty-one.”

“Fuck you, Ashes.”

“No, Jonny.” Ashes grinned as they tapped their cards. “Twenty-one fucks twenty, remember.”


	7. Oh Captain, Who's Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lifrasir talks to Tim about Jonny's Captain status, and Jonny responds with violence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Alcohol, Captain/First Mate argument, Gun violence, other violence

The game carried on with the a few minor breaks for Lifrasir to eat and not get completely card-loopy, at some point the game also switched from Blackjack to Poker (a game where Jonny sat out but was giving pointers over Lifrasir's shoulder) then a new bottle of whiskey was found and the game changed again, this time to something with dice that Lifrasir passed on.

“So.” Lifrasir held out a glass of the booze towards Gunpowder Tim who had appeared some time earlier. “Dealt with The Toy Soldier then?”

“Yeah, sure. You going to roadie then?”

“If I can figure out where I'm supposed to sleep, but I don't particularly get the sense that I have a choice at this point. I didn't like the implied second or third choices.”

“The doctor or the void. Fair point, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes for that decision. As for bedding, I'm sure you could ask anyone if they wanted company easy enough without having to opt for a common area. Or you could wait and see who decides that they won't need their bed any time soon.” Tim took a long drink while surveying the rest of the Mechanisms in the room. “My bet is on Jonny not needing his, but you wouldn't want to suffer that fate.”

Lifrasir coughed slightly in shock before tossing back their own drink. “I didn't, Its not what I would have expected from a Captain.”  
  


There was silence for a moment before an explosion of laughter erupted from Tim on one side and from Marius on the other. Tim wiped away the alcohol he had inadvertently spit-taked at Lifrasir's indication that Jonny was Captain.

“Jonny did you seriously tell the Stowaway that you were captain?” Marius managed through his laughter, almost immediately the remaining Mechanisms had their own similar reactions.

Jonny maintained a stoic, just bridging on the edge of annoyed, face in the light of this ridicule.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Lifrasir asked, turning between the two at their sides. “He's obviously Captain.”

“But he's really not.” Tim replied, draping an arm around Lifrasir's shoulders, “He's first mate at best.” The Master-at-arms raised his glass in Jonny's direction with an increasingly smug look on his face, “If anyone was going to be our captain, it would be--”

The shot rang out, the second one in as many days and more or less barely missing Lifrasir. Instead the bullet shattered the glass Tim was holding, leaving both Tim and Lifrasir covered in glass and booze and some blood.

“Really, Jonny, don't you think that was a bit far?” Marius asked as he did a cursory check over the other two on the couch with him. “Tim you'll heal, but for fuck's sake stop shooting at around the mortal.”

Lifrasir's eyes were wide, firstly because of nearly getting shot again, and secondly because it was _Marius_ that was advocating for not shooting them. “Really?” They asked looking over at the medic.

“She's not here right now, we have her clone and her clone is certainly not Captain of my ship.”

“If anything Aurora owns herself.” A new voice entered into the airwaves through a speaker in a nearby wall. “She also wants you to restrain your trigger finger until we're on another planet. I don't want to spend all of the transit fixing things.” with an audible sound of the speaker shutting off the voice was gone.

“I am not first mate to the fucking ship!” Jonny said in the direction of the speaker before turning to Tim with a glare.

“Go ahead, Jonny, shoot me, get the real captain riled up at you, you never know what Aurora might do. After all you're the one who suggested 'stick him in an airlock 'till he's sober'.” Tim's smug face barely lasted a full ten seconds before the punch landed.

Ultimately it was Ashes and Lifrasir that actually pulled the two rivals apart. Jonny departed with Ashes to cool down and to settle whatever bet they had made early on in the day. Tim was sat back down with Marius and Lifrasir, the later of which had decided that even if Tim didn't consider Jonny captain, they would.

“You can stay in my bed if you want.” Marius said as he walked Tim towards a med bay or his room or wherever. “You already know where it is.”

“This doesn't mean that...” Lifrasir made a hand gesture that was common on New Midgard that Marius shook his head to.

“Not if you don't want it to. Besides I have to make sure this one is more functional for tomorrow.” he indicated the master-at-arms who was actually in need of the aid. “And tomorrow we can make sure Ashes actually does something with that uniform, it makes you look like some sort of cop.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone tell me if Tim is a Tenor or a Baritone, I want to insult him using that, but I couldn't find the information right away.


	8. Static and Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lifrasir sees a figure on the Aurora before finally settling to sleep, predictably they have another nightmare dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Static figure, compulsive behavior, light agoraphobia, Blood, Gore, body horror, needles, cannibalism, being unable to help, self-inflicted pain

Lifrasir wandered back to the room that they had woken up in earlier on in the day, a light buzz starting to grow in the back of their mind. Twice they looked behind them and saw nothing, but still the buzzing remained. The sound was prickly like static, though also fairly directed like it was moving. Just as they reached for the door to Marius' room they looked back the way they came to see a figure that looked human shaped at the very least, though it was more of static and twisting bismuth colours.

  
  


The shape looked at them before nodding and appearing to turn. For a moment, Lifrasir saw the thing's eyes: Bright blue and bright green – and then all of its other eyes opened, no two the same colour.

  
  


Lifrasir stumbled backwards through the bedroom door as the static creature blinked out of existence. Lifrasir crumpled to the floor, their back to the now closed door as the cold sweat of panic manifested and began to run into their eyes. They were sure that was something like Loki in that last walk through the train, or in that final moment as she was injected with the feed lines to the Ratatosk Express. If it was Loki, what did she want with Lifrasir, and was she really going to let them escape?

  
  


They hyper-vigilance of panic was setting in, and every creek and strange sound of the Aurora was starting to settle around Lifrasir, and doing absolutely nothing to ease their fear of the entire situation.

  
  


Deep breaths – In then out.

  
  


Lifrasir tried to calm theirself, relying on the training they had been put through as a member of the Transit Police. Considering it wasn't much training, it didn't help as much as they wanted. However, it was enough to lock the door – then unlock it to ensure that the relocking was actually locking it. They tried the lock two more times to ensure proper locking procedure, and told theirself that if the door was locked Loki, or whoever the static person was, couldn't get into the room and they would be able to sleep as well as usual in relative safety. Also, it would ensure they wouldn't wake up with a gun barrel in their face again.

  
  


This was a small consolation, but it was all they could afford at the moment.

  
  


The quarters had been comfortably roomy for a drunk Lifrasir earlier on in the day, as they quickly readied for bed, they started to feel the fear of an unknown and unfamiliar place combining with too much space. As they rolled into the furthest corner of the bed from the door, and drew up the crew blanket around theirself they let the thought of home – of New Midgard filter through their thoughts and dared to miss it.

  
  


* * *

Lifrasir was watching numerous screens, as the static of the corrupted video feeds receded. They could still remember Ivy tampering with the black box before they re-attached it, and now the bismuth nightmare that was and is the Ratatosk Express fell to ruin and blood as the twisting of Yog Sothoth and it's twisted squamous children took the train and its inhabitants. The bleeding and the pain began to filter through Lifrasir's body as they desperately tried to look away from the screens. Every flick of his glance drew the visions of pain and of horror closer until it was like they were standing in the room.

  
  


The blood licked at their white uniform boots as they looked on staring the ever watching golden throated Sif as her blood and bones and muscles liquefied and fused with the wall of the train, nearby the healed and gilded stump that belonged to Tyr sprouted a large claw, then another and another and another. Claws infinitely sprouting and rending his body and Garm, with blood streaming from his eyes, ceased Tyr between his teeth and began to eat him alive.

  
  


Sigyn stalked, her dark skin shining in the blood coating as she followed Thor towards the engine room. One of her hands had found a knife, glowing bright with spiral patterns of rainbow stones. Thor's hand was at his side, holding in bits of him that were trying to leak out.

  
  


The blood licked at Lifrasir's white uniform boots as they walked through the corridors following the static and spiraling Loki as she made her choice in the Engine. They watched as the crystal needles were injected slowly into Loki's veins. They watched as the rainbow hues of the magic of the Singing Void pulsed once more through the tracks before the last bit of Loki had been given up, and Sigyn tried to turn the needles on herself.

  
  


Sigyn, too, had been touched by the void. But she did not have the willpower or the external force to live on after her wife. She could not give that sacrifice. In her desperation she looked towards Lifrasir, who had been there for the eighty years as Loki deteriorated, her eyes pleading for help. Her mouth pleading as the rainbow tears streamed down her face.

  
  


Blood licked at Lifrasir's white uniform boots as their face remained impassive watching Sigyn beg for help. Sigyn plunged the needle into her own vein, her ragged breathing doing nothing to change Lifrasir's expression as they observed. Sigyn's blood began to flow, the void touched ichor flowing into the tracks, pushed it on further and faster as the rails drank her deep. In her weakness, the hand that had managed for eighty years to regulate Loki's output into the tracks _failed_.

  
  


They couldn't not help her, and they could not look away.


	9. Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lifrasir is coming to terms with the routine of nightmares and pirates who aren't' the Mechanisms are unfortunate in their decision to attack the Aurora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Violence, Blood, Wounded, Gun Violence, Stabbing someone, Needles mention, Gore, Alcohol use

Weeks passed of Lifrasir's life as a stowaway with the mechanisms, sleep cycle after sleep cycle each added to the deepening narrative that was growing in Lifrasir's head. The projected memories and the visions that they would have to watch as they dreamed eventually became a dull horror pain, another scab that they couldn't stop picking at as it slowly faded into the background of the day.

They stumbled out of the bedroom that Marius had decided to let them keep, there had been an argument about some of the more open areas of the ship not actually being sized well for the terror that gripped Lifrasir as sleep started to offer it's open arms to them. Marius was off doing whatever a medic could to a group of immortals, and Nastya was probably actually helping or enjoying her time in the engine; Lifrasir couldn't place where the other Mechanisms actually spent the majority of their time but they could always find someone in the common areas.

“--think they've seen pirates.” Jonny's voice echoed down the corridor as Lifrasir approached on the hunt for some form of breakfast and caffeine.

“Whats this about pirates?” Lifrasir asked as they took note of the others in the mess area.

“Some rumors on the wavelengths that there is a group of pirates in the area.” Gunpowder Tim replied with a dismissive wave of a fork.

“That aren't us that is.” Jonny scoffed.

“Are we intending to do anything about it?” Lifrasir asked, there had been some light battles with the Mechanisms, along with some in depth extraction of information at Ivy's hands. But they were falling into the routine of it all. “What were you saying last night, 'we haven't had any good violence in a while' or something?”

“See Tim, I told you Lifrasir would be on my side of this.”

“I never said they wouldn't be.”

Static from the speaker in the wall bled into the room as Lifrasir poured a cup of tea, “Er... we have a problem.” Nastya's voice sounded, though not hurried or frightened. “We seem to have aggressive ships approaching,”

A grin spread across Jonny's face and Gunpowder Tim followed suit with a draw of a pistol. “Well, Jonny, looks like we get to have that fight.”

Lifrasir began to add whiskey to the tea instead of milk and turned to the Captain and Master at Arms before downing the hot liquid in a single toss of his head. “I'm still not good with guns, where do you need me?”

* * *

Lifrasir had his back to a wall, a pistol in one hand and a bright vibrating blade in the other, a mask was pulled down over their face so they could breathe in the areas of the ship that the Aurora had cleaned out most of oxygen. It was an easy enough tactic and the small speaker in their ear was constantly monitoring the tactical movements that were being given out in rapid fire between Tim and Ivy.

_Six in the corridor right ahead, Marius. Lifrasir is near you and I think I see the Toy Soldier back on the ship coming up behind them._

Lifrasir gripped their blade and gun as they noticed the green, red and black of Marius' uniform and signals. The Toy Soldier would be able to handle itself, and if the way Tim was telling talking, it was likely already blood soaked. A glance from Marius and the two of them spun into the corridor; Lifrasir falling into a low roll to cross to the other side, the pistol coming up and firing the bright span of light to catch the knee of one of the approaching pirates.

Marius came around the corner with the sound of sprockets and gears as his arm nearly disassembled into a multiple firearms and unloading rapid fire on the approaching enemies.

_Fuck they have Roses, aim for the heads if you can._

The blade vibrated in Lifrasir's hand as they counted to ten when they knew that Marius would have to reload, or at least they hoped they were getting the timing correctly. There were only six of the pirates coming at them, but bullets were flying nonetheless.

They raised the blade and tried to focus on the creatures the numbers slowly counting down in their head. At one they pushed off the floor, sword first towards the first of the intruders. They were a stowaway and the ship didn't really need another one just yet.

The blade touched skin, no sound entered the vacuum that was the ship, but Lifrasir could see the fear cross the Pirate's face as it began to shred their body. The last moments of terror, and a flash of overlay of Sigyn's eyes that was entirely in Lifrasir's mind. They pulled the blade out and plunged it in again and again, bits of bone and blood starting to drift into the empty space of the corridor. Seconds later they noticed that Marius had started calling for a switch as he had reloaded his arm and pulled another pistol to watch Lifrasir's back.

The Toy Soldier had likewise descended, and there was for a maddening moment (as Lfirasir threw their back against the wall) where the thought that the Toy Soldier might have accidentally joined the other side – before it's wooden hand emerged from the chest of one of the pirates surrounded with now broken limbs and shredding organs.

* * *

Lifrasir pulled the blade out of the last of the third wave and finally slumped to the floor, their uniform no longer white or even the dull yellow-grey but instead the bright red and drying red-brown of blood. They were favoring one leg where the blood was their own. They looked up at Marius who had managed to actually kill that last one with a grateful smile.

“Thanks.” They signed, their one uninjured hand making out the words that their mouth couldn't as the moment.

“You remind me of someone I knew once.” Marius said with the last few clicks of his arm returning to its more normal state before kneeling nearby to the mortal stowaway. “Mortal and a bit reckless, and with a tale to tell that isn't entirely your own.”

“No violin this time?” Lifrasir asked while their face squeezed in pain.

“No, instead I get to practice with a needle and thread on this.” Marius knelt down and tore away cloth near a relatively deep wound. “We need to get you patched up, Jonny said something about a performance upcoming, and-”

“And you all still need a roadie.”

“Sure.”


	10. Lifrasir's First Procedure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the Pirate attack, Marius and Brian fix Lifrasir up and a decision is made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: something sort of happy happens, mention of medical spaces, mention of claustrophobic spaces, unconsciousness, possibly hypnotism, Implied medical procedures, Implied temporary death.

Marius helped Lifrasir to their feet and supported their battle-drunk form to the med-bay. “I'm taking Lifrasir to get patched up someplace more sterile than the corridors full of blood.”

_There aren't anything on the cameras between them and you._

Nastya's voice in the response, words that Lifrasir barely even heard as they could barely maintain consciousness at the sort of level necessary for self propulsion. In their mind they fought to hold onto the waking world, as even they could recognize that being in the open on the ship without the enclosed walls of a sleeping space would do something to add to the nightmares – and this most recent encounter of blood, blade, and bullet was not going to go unnoticed.

As they neared the med bay doors, Lifrasir realized that Marius was whispering to them. Not through the actual acknowledgment of words but by the steady vibration that was starting to rock through their system. The lulling susurrus wound around his brain teasing out the memories of the day and unlocking them from whatever eldritch creation had caused them to play and replay over and over again night after night.

By the time Marius had managed to get Lifrasir horizontal, the New Midgardian was out cold. For the first time since the sky tore open in bismuth spirals, Lifrasir slept dreamless.

* * *

Marius started to move, trying his best to stop the bleeding before the doors opened again to emit the copper pilot.

“You're not going to be able to do it on your own, Marius.” Drumbot Brian said as he moved around the table, “and there's a chance we'll have to go a bit beyond the science of your time and world.”

Marius returned Brian's look with one of defiance then eventual acceptance. “They lost a lot of blood, we don't have anything that the Doc didn't sip from, and I'm not about to go raid her lab.” He slumped back in a chair and began rummaging through one of the nearby drawers for a needle and sutures. “We could pack the wounds and try to remove the bullets, I think I counted four, then stitch them up and hope it'll be enough.”

Brian looked at the perpetual youth before nodding. “Good choice, we could also do a direct transfusion; assuming I remember your blood type correctly. Ivy did say they were physiologically compatible, if necessary.”

Marius looked over the still bleeding body of Lifrasir Edda and for a moment he saw others in their place. “Yeah, yeah, lets do it.”

* * *

Lifrasir came to in the bright white light of the med-bay their right hand holding the green brocade jacket of a now sleeping Marius. Their left hand was tied to the slightly upright bed with a series of needles running into it as well as several areas that seemed tight and plastered shut. They ached but wouldn't dare to move, being unknowledgeable of the time or of what had truly happened while they were unaware.

Thankfully they did know that they had slept a true sleep, as this realization overcome them immediately relief began to bead at the corner of their eyes, and slowly took over their body, wracking them with sobs from the one freeing moment of it all.

The darker skinned mechanism in the room looked up, bleary as if he had spent more than just an evening asleep and looked over Lifrasir in alarm. “You are alright now?” he asked concern spreading deep into his voice and facial expression.

Lifrasir unclenched their hand from the coat and made a quick sign of ascent before working on stifling their outpouring of emotion. “Thank, Thank you.” They wiped away at the tears, a smile spread across their face as they looked at Marius, “Thank you for everything.”

Marius looked away in embarrassment before deftly removing the needles in his own arm and leg, “You're welcome,” he said slowly a bit unable to proceed in the aftermath of his won revitalization, “Lifrasir, If you--”

“Lif.” Lifrasir responded. “You can call me, Lif.”


	11. There are Tales to be Told pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first set of vignettes concerning Lifrasir's relationships with the Mechanisms over the course of the ten years after last chapter.
> 
> Highlights are: Getting woken up by way of stabbing, a Bad drug trip, and the lead up to their second bedmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Vignettes out of chronological order, Stabbing/getting stabbed, violence, being trapped in a bad dream, (almost) having the self ripped out of you, Drug use, Bad trip, body horror, eyes, blood, paranoia, Confusion, possible self-disassociation, being watched, not learning from your mistakes, Implied fade to black.

Lifrasir didn't always fit in with the crew, there were times where they found themself staring out in to the empty void, almost afraid that the great rainbow gash would spread in front of the Aurora and swallow the entire ship and it's crew. But if any bit of their memory was intact about those last weeks on New Midgard, Lifrasir was certain that the Mechanisms would be able to survive even on the train. And some part of them wondered if they had... or would.

Wrapping their mind around the non-linear living times of the others on the ship tended to make their head hurt, but Marius had been helping with that, and the dreams as well. The moves to actually sharing the quarters that Marius had nearly gifted to Lifrasir had been slow, but it had started with that blood transfusion. Whether they were technically date friends or blood siblings never quite came up, they did spend a significant amount of time in close proximity now.

Lifrasir always stated it was because it helped with the knowing that came whenever they were alone, but it had the hallmark of needing another person to stave off the loneliness of being nearly alone in the expanse of time and space.

Marius was not the only mechanism that Lifrasir bonded with for the next decade – the lot of them staying inexplicably youthful, while their own being changed with the light application of age, hard work, and violence.

* * *

The first night that the terrors overcame even Marius' barrier of safety the bright blue of Odin...Jormagandr's eye bore into them and the protective cocoon of Marius was stripped away, Lifrasir felt bared to the eyes of the universe – of time itself. They were seen, and torn asunder – they felt their mind begin to shatter in the dream; no other nightmares to watch or observe as the whole of the dreamscape crumbled beneath the gaze of what was once Odin's eye.

In that last moment as Lifrasir thought they would be lost forever just a husk to be thrown into the void a sharp pain brought them out of the torment they had been enduring. At first they saw nothing but a rainbow wash of colours and delicate spirals before those shapes coalesced into Marius' painfully awake face.

Marius, for his own account, withdrew the blade from Lifrasir's side. “I'm sorry, you were just...” Marius gestured as best as he could to indicate what had happened – it didn't come across that well, but it was an attempt.

Lifrasir breathed heavily, taking in the calming bland color or the space above where they slept as the pain finally started to wash over them. “Ow. It's fine.” they said their breathing laboured through the residual terror and the mounting sharp pain and knowledge of blood beginning to stain the blankets.

* * *

Lifrasir and Ashes bonded mostly over their mutual vices, cigarettes and cigars smoked, alcohol drunk and numerous other drugs when they could be found (or stolen). There were parties, teary-eyed sessions, and bad trips when the bismuth colours began to manifest to even Ashes' sight.

It wasn't so much as the sky tore open, but whatever drug they had decided to experiment that evening had an interesting effect. As it took hold, it was as if every point of the room had exploded into riotous colors, their multitudes of eyes opening and watching from all of the misshapen walls, oozing closer and closer until the rainbows crawled up Lifrasir's legs and poured themselves directly into their veins.

For weeks they still thought they could see bumps of eyes watching them through their own veins and waves on waves of fear would course through their bodies as they sought out darker and more enclosed spaces to protect from prying eyes.

Needless to say, Ashes did make attempts to be more cautious when offering drugs to Lifrasir for as long as they could remember to do so. And Lifrasir went straight laced for a time until their curiosity got the better of them once again.

* * *

Gunpowder Tim was the second Mechanism that Lifrasir kissed, and the second to be allowed to use the diminutive (and occasionally feminine) form of their name. Marius had done something that had caused him to have bits of him in stasis and regrowing, and the dreams started coming on rougher and more violent than before.

Images of the year or so before hand of watching the Mechanisms tear through people with joy and mirth and not a backwards glance at the humanity they had lost hundreds of years before would find themselves on a long drawn out loop of memories to revisit and watch and see and experience inside of their head. Without Marius to help stave off the effects of the night terrors, Lifrasir turned to Gunpowder Tim and his vast armory.

“Hey, Tim, wait up.” Lifrasir said following after Tim down the corridors to the long haired man's quarters. “I was wondering if you...” They trailed off, the awkwardness of not truly being able to express their own needs. Their hand reached forward for a moment before they pulled it back and began to turn away. “Never mind.”

“Lif?” Tim said carefully, using the shortened version of the name, despite not having the confirmation that they were actually at that point in closeness, “Spend the night with me.”


	12. There are Tales to be Told pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second set of Vignettes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Vignettes not in chronological order, realization, embarrassment, implied ship sex, body horror

The story of the Ratatosk Express' crash came out in bits and pieces, it was Ivy Alexandria that managed to piece them together. The twisting tale through the screens as Lifrasir had worked their way through what they could of the black box, before they found someone who could decode it.

Ivy could calculate how likely it was that the Mechanisms would be in the area at any given time – they were attracted to the tragedy of it all anyway. Be it by a side effect of their infernal origins or just the prevalent ennui and boredom that came with immortality. The confirmation came at one of their later sessions together.

“I don't even know why he called me Lif, I thought it was just a way to mock me.” Lifrasir said as they lounged against one of the slanted alcove walls in Ivy's library.

“Marius does have a high chance for mockery at any given time.” She said as she added to her notes about the incident.

“I get that, but this was different, now that I think about it. You were there too... well most of the crew were. We managed to capture you because you all were causing royal chaos, even worse than the Asgardians were.”

A smile drifted across Ivy's face.

Lifrasir sits up suddenly, “This hasn't happened yet, it happened in the past in the future, didn't it.” The blush that had began when they realized what it could have mean started to glow brighter and spread further.

“That one is a one hundred percent chance, it's not in my memory, but we don't live in the same time paths that you do.”

“Oh no.” Lifrasir said, their hand covering their mouth as more recent events and situations with Marius crossed their mind before being overlaid with the realization that the Marius von Raum they had known and spoken to before the Rainbow Scar took New Midgard had experienced all of those intimate details.

This realization was slightly undercut by the perfect pitch of Ivy's quiet laughter.

* * *

Nastya didn't ask for help, and Lifrasir didn't offer any, at the suggestion of the Captain. They did, however, request Nastya's help with things like learning how to actually shoot weapons, and for anything Drumbot Brian would tell them to ask. Lifrasir accepted the glorified courier role between the mechanic and the mechanical. It wasn't precisely doing what they had trained to in the Transport Police but it was something that was useful; and learning more of the workings of Aurora seemed to actually help the grounding nature of the immortals they were constantly surrounded by.

Eventually, Lifrasir found themselves in Nastya's presence more and more often, though usually to help get pass tools along, and strictly removed from the room whenever the ship needed _special hands on_ tending. Any time cries of that particular volume and reverberation echoed across the ship, and occasionally the communications Lifrasir would find themselves in someone's quarters just to get away from the sounds they thought they shouldn't hear for privacy's sake.

And they very early on took Jonny's advice to go with whiskey or beer instead of whatever water the Aurora herself produced.

* * *

The Toy Soldier took a bit of time to work up to actually being on terms with, time spent with Jonny led to some distant animosity with it. Lifrasir took over what could only be considered Gunpowder Tim's chore of removing it from the ship occasionally; and over time actually developed something of a tentative working relationship.

It was Tim's idea to get the Toy Soldier to help train Lifrasir a bit more with weaponry, though images of it's wooden hand holding a Rose Red's heart never truly got out of their mind. Training went as well as it could be, and The Toy Soldier wasn't the least lethal of the Mechanisms, which led to Lifrasir spending time under Marius and Brian's care.

But their combat prowess improved, though not by much. Many of the improvements seemed to vanish as quickly, almost as if the information was being drained out of them and placed somewhere else. But training had been mandated, and so they put effort into it.


End file.
